How to Efficiently Build a Family Financial Plan
Whether you’ve just gotten married or you’re expecting your first child, it can be a real struggle trying keep hold of your finances. This is especially true when it comes to the latter. While maintaining the family funds can be challenging, there’s nothing a solid financial plan can’t fix. In this post, we’ll be going over how new families can build an efficient financial plan.
Start a New Budget
A budget is what lists all the expenses you’re currently paying for. You’ll be amazed at how much bigger, yet tighter your budget becomes after having a family. You’ll also be constantly reassessing this budget to make sure you don’t accidentally overspend. For new parents or newlyweds, it’s important to follow money saving tips that nip the financial aspect in the bud.
One of the best methods to use when creating a new is to use the 50/30/20 rule. This is a relatively simple rule where you put 50 percent of your earned income towards your household necessities. Once that’s done, you can use 30 percent of it for anything you may want to buy. The remaining 20 percent goes into your savings account. If your household brings in two separate incomes, you can expect to save quite a bit each month.
Take Out a Personal Loan
If you ever find yourself in dire need of cash, and a lot of it at that, you do have options. It’s not uncommon for families to fall on hard times, but that doesn’t mean you should let it. One way you can get your hands on some fast cash is to take out a personal loan. A personal loan can be used for just about anything ranging from paying off your bills to simply building up your financial security.
These loans can be easy to acquire, but it’s important that you do your research first. Make sure to review a comprehensive guide on what to know about personal loans. These guides go over what you need to apply for one, where to find them and potential alternatives if you need them.
Start a 529 Savings Plan
Shifting to the topic of children, you want to make sure they’re happy and successful. However, you don’t necessarily need to wait to give birth to prepare your child. Nothing proves this more than a 529 savings plan. This is a type of investment that functions similarly to a savings account.
It’s where you deposit funds into a tax-deferred account that’s solely for a college education. The account is in the beneficiary’s name, but you might be confused how you can put your child’s name on it when they’re not born. You can put the account in your name and then transfer it almost immediately after you have them.
Pay Off Your Debt
Debt is known for making families struggle because of how easy it is to accrue. Unfortunately, we can’t always pay debt off as quick as we get it. If you find yourself dealing with multiple forms of debt and can’t keep up with them all, your best bet is to consolidate your debt. Consolidating your debt basically combines all of it into a single payment, which makes it easier to pay off.